When ADM senior girls track and field thrower Erica Baier found out the news, she simply couldn’t contain her emotions.

Baier placed third in the discus at a Class 3A district meet in Norwalk last Thursday, meaning she would have to wait for the completion of all district meets to find out if her throw of 108 feet, 10.75 inches was good enough for an at-large bid to the 2015 Iowa High School Track and Field state meet, as only the top two finishers in each event automatically qualify.

When informed that yes, she had in fact earned an at-large bid, Baier let out tears of joy.The multi-sport athlete had made it back to Drake Stadium in Des Moines for after missing out the previous year, following back-to-back trips her freshman and sophomore seasons.

Baier will throw for a state championship at 9 a.m. Thursday morning, when the state meet gets underway.

Baier’s performance alone is noteworthy, but the circumstances under which she did it is even more remarkable. Despite spending a considerable amount of time and energy on her duties as South-Central State Vice President for the Iowa FFA Association, Baier put together one of her best seasons.

“And she’s had to put a lot of time into that, a lot of training. She’s missed a lot of our practices this year,” said head coach Bart Mueller. “It’s probably the least amount of time she’s had to work on throwing her discus in four years, yet she’s probably throwing farther and more consistently than any of her four years. I think this year she just kind of looked more relaxed and had fun and she’s so enthusiastic. Erica does our prayer before meets, and just inspires the girls.”

There in lies Baier’s other main talent: the ability to inspire others. She did so as a member of the girls varsity basketball team this past season despite a minimal playing role.

Mueller recounted a recent motivational speech Baier gave at the Tigers’ team meal earlier this week as an example of the notable lift Baier provides her teammates.

” [It was] about believing the impossible and not putting up barriers, and I think everybody after [the state qualifying meet] just though they could run as great as ever, because that’s basically [her message]: ‘You can do this,'” Mueller said. “It’s just exciting to see her motivate and share that talent with her teammates beyond just being a good discus thrower.”